“Remote deposit” refers to the ability to deposit a check into a bank account from a remote location, such as an office or home, without having to physically deliver a paper check to the bank. This is typically accomplished by capturing a digital image of the front and back of the paper check into a computer, then transmitting that image to the bank, a practice that became legal in the United States in 2004 when the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (“Check 21 Act”) took effect. The image that is transmitted to the bank is referred to as a “substitute check.” “Remote deposit capture” refers to the process of capturing an image of a paper check to create a substitute check. Remote deposit capture (RDC) is typically performed using a scanner such as a transport scanner, a flat-bed scanner, or a specialized check-scanner; or using a camera, such as those commonly found in smartphones. The terms “remote deposit” and “remote deposit capture” are often used interchangeably to describe remote deposit services offered by financial institutions.
In typical remote deposit scenarios, a payee receives a paper check from a payor, and then performs remote deposit capture to create a substitute check. The payee then transmits the substitute check to the bank for deposit. Smartphone applications have recently emerged that capture check images using smartphone cameras to support remote deposit of paper checks. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,778,457.